Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant

Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant is sponsored by YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis. Aims to strengthen child or youth-serving nonprofits focused on the prevention or treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant | YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis This application is now closed. For further information, please contact Allison McDonald .

Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant The Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant is intended to aid and support nonprofit child welfare organizations whose primary mission is to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children by addressing child abuse and neglect through foster/adoption care, prevention, and treatment of child abuse.

Proposals should focus on the following capacity building activities: Financial sustainability and diversified funding strategies Program evaluation and performance measurement Leadership and staff development Board governance strengthening Technology and data systems enhancement Collaboration and partnership development YouthBridge Community Foundation will award grants to child or youth serving nonprofit organizations that are located in and primarily serve the St.

Louis metropolitan area. To apply for a Child Welfare Capacity Building Grant, organizations must: Be incorporated as an IRC 501(c)(3) public charity. Be a child or youth serving nonprofit focused on the prevention or treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Be located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Have been in operation for at least two years, including branches or franchises of national organizations.

Have staff leadership that has been in place for a minimum of one year or can demonstrate effectiveness in organizational leadership. YouthBridge will give preferred consideration to those eligible organizations with an annual budget of less than $10 million. Current YouthBridge Community Foundation Heritage Grant Awardees are not eligible.

In 2026, we funded the following proposals: Grant funds are intended to strengthen St. Louis Crisis Nursery’s leadership capacity, internal systems, financial resilience, and long-term sustainability to support uninterrupted 24/7 services for children and families through improved organizational structure, executive leadership, and diversified fundraising strategies.

$14,000 The Child Advocacy Center of Northeast Missouri The grant will strengthen donor retention, repeat giving, and long-term financial stability through improved stewardship and donor engagement.

$8,500 In 2025, we funded the following proposals: Funds will support the purchase of FamYoCare, the web-based software used to document treatment and therapy notes, behavior logs, medical needs, prescriptions, assessments, daily communication logs, and billing. These enhancements will strengthen Marygrove’s ability to provide high-quality care and maintain sustainable operations.

$10,000 Funds will support a Nonprofit Assessment conducted by a nonprofit accounting firm. This assessment will provide actionable recommendations, identify areas for improvement, and establish safeguards against financial risks and inefficiencies. By proactively evaluating Foster Together’s internal operations, the goal is to create a strong foundation for long-term sustainability, allowing the organization to expand its impact.

$10,000 Funding will provide training for approximately six staff in the Ukeru approach to crisis management. Ukeru is a restraint-free program that combines hands-on training, theoretical concepts, practical tools, and specialized equipment to safely manage and diffuse crises. Staff in the Residential Treatment program and the Therapist at the ECH School will be trained in-person by Ukeru trainers.

These staff members will then train additional staff. $10,000 Funds will be used to upgrade the organization’s website. This update will include a resource hub, training courses, and a streamlined referral system to increase accessibility and impact.

Anticipated outcomes include improved SEO (Search Engine Optimization), increased collaboration opportunities, and enhanced engagement with resources for a larger impact on preventing child abuse. $10,000 Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis Funds will be used for a rebranding project to raise awareness about services for victims of child abuse and trauma.

This rebranding project includes updating the name, logo, and launching awareness materials to better connect with stakeholders and address challenges in child welfare. $10,000 In 2024, we funded the following proposals: Boys and Girls Club of Greater St.

Louis Funds will provide salary support to allow the outgoing and incoming CEOs to overlap in order to transfer knowledge, transition partner relationships, and acclimate the new CEO to the role.

Funds will also support costs of meetings, consultation, and evaluation services as part of transition activities which will include governance, communication planning to ensure leadership and staff are informed and in alignment with transition goals, cross-functional training for leaders, creating a process for staff to feel supported and to provide feedback, and evaluating outcomes/data processes to ensure alignment with BGCA and community stakeholder goals.

$25,000 In 2023, we funded the following proposals: Gene Slay Boys and Girls Club of St. Louis Funding will allow the organization to upgrade to a new website platform. A new website will enable them to have greater control of their website.

The website will be user friendly, enabling families visiting the website to have a better experience. $6,500 Funds will allow this organization to obtain their first external audit of financials. Hope Creates feels that this will aid in them being seen as a responsible steward of their financial resources as well as strengthen their fiscal management capacity.

$6,188 Funds will support One Classroom’s implementation of Donor Perfect Online and Constant Contact email platforms. A customized, multi-function database will allow the organization to be more efficient and effective with their donor management. $7,500 Funding will assist the organization in improving their technological infrastructure.

They will enhance IT capabilities, improve operational efficiency, and minimize downtime. Funds will support onboarding a new IT provider, update and purchase new laptops, migrate servers to cloud based or local server and migrate proprietary program database to a cloud based or local server. $7,500 The Core Collective at St.

Vincent (CC) Funds will support the engagement of Mission Matters Group to train staff in implementing the Six Levers Framework.

Mission Matters Group will provide consulting services to help create an Organizational Compass, a three-page strategic alignment tool defining the organization’s identity, direction, and priorities; a Scorecard for monitoring quarterly and annual progress on indicators and targets; and 6 Levers Training, a framework to monitor progress of The CC’s strategic vision, set near-term priorities, learn and adjust, and become a more cohesive team.

$7,500 Flance Early Learning Center The funded project is a series of five half-day leadership training seminars led by AAIM Employers’ Association for administrative and program staff, focusing on the topics of Defining Your Organizational and Leadership Role, Communicating for Leadership Success, Coaching and Managing for Better Performance, Delegation and Empowerment, and Dealing with Conflict.

$7,500 Funding will be used to replace an antiquated phone system. OLI is moving to a VoIP system which ties all three of their locations together into one system. This will ensure seamless communication between locations and increase client access to phones.

This project request includes the cost for the end-user equipment and the VoIP services for 1 year. $7,000 Foundations for Strengthening Families Funds will support Foundations for Strengthening Families’ leadership team (Executive Director, Board President, and one Board Member) to attend and actively participate in the intensive week-long Let’s Build Hope Annual Fundraising Training Camp held October 16-20, 2023.

$3,000 In 2022, we funded the following proposals: Funds will support Homeworks board and staff working with Let’s Build Hope, a St. Louis based nonprofit consultancy, for a one-year Capacity Building and Training program.

The program consists of: Development of a case for funding, Developing a plan and implementation for board development, Creation of an Annual Fund Development strategy, One full-year of mentoring, Evaluating database capacity and creating needed reports. $7,500 Funds will provide support for a project to revamp and reinvigorate the Board of Directors.

The agency will have a consultant provide board training and assist the agency in establishing clearly defined processes for recruitment, orientation, officers, term limits, and develop a board manual. $7,500 Funds will offset the cost of an external consultant conducted comprehensive study/fit test to determine the long-term sustainability of an Emergency Shelter as part of a vacant hospital campus into a community center.

Caritas has partnered with AltonWorks a philanthropic development company on the concept of an innovative model of community-based social services operated by Caritas at the vacant facility in Alton, IL. $7,500 The Child Advocacy Center Funds will support interactive security and compliance training with real-life simulated scenarios to help teach staff how to respond in a challenging situation.

The content addresses difficult and sometimes chaotic topics like phishing, malware, cyber security, sexual harassment, diversity and inclusion, discrimination, and business ethics. Also included is a 36-month subscription to KnowB4 Security Awareness Training and Compliance Plus for staff continued education and compliance.

$3,200 Child Care Aware Missouri Funds will be used to support the organizations work with a consultant to increase their messaging and marketing techniques to expand their fundraising opportunities on their website and in their printed materials. $7,500 Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective Funds will support The Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective board and staff working with Let’s Build Hope, a St.

Louis based nonprofit consultancy, for one-year to develop an Annual Fund Development Plan. The plan will consists of: Development of a case for funding, create an annual development strategy with an annual development calendar, create an executive summary, development of a direct appeal and other strategies to increase donor awareness, cultivation and stewardship.

In addition, team members will attend Let’s Build Hope’s annual fund development training camp. $7,500 Funds will assist St. Louis Youth Jobs to achieve their goal of revenue growth and fund diversification to create a path to sustainable growth.

To accomplish this, they have hired Let’s Build Hope, a fundraising consulting team that is focused on assisting them to create annual fund development strategies that include increasing individual, mid-level, major gifts and corporate support initiatives through cultivation, solicitation, an annual appeal and moves processes as well as board coaching on their fundraising contribution and involvement and the planning of donor stewardship events.

$7,500 Vision for Children at Risk Funds will support Vision for Children at Risks’ work with a Human Resource Firm. The Firm will support their leadership team and staff with ongoing training and coaching sessions, updated policies and procedures, and ensure compliance with federal guidelines. The Firm will also help enhance the onboarding process, and the ongoing training and professional development of all staff.

$3,686 Funds will support Wyman Center with the implementation of their new Youth Leadership Council. The Youth Leadership Council is a diverse collective of young people focused on sharing ideas, creating solutions, and putting those solutions into action with the support of Wyman.

Youth Leadership council members will influence and advise Wyman’s direct advocacy actions, partnerships, and identified mission-aligned priority issue areas as part of Wyman’s Advocacy Framework.

By creating a space for youth to authentically partner with Wyman’s staff and board of trustees, they will add to the organization’s capacity by being able to effectively include the voices, perspectives, ideas, and capacity of the youth leaders. Their work will help to expand and improve Wyman’s programmatic offerings and work overall.

$7,500 In 2021, we funded the following programs: Recovery and Resilience: Risk Assessment Each agency received $5,000 to participate in a cohort facilitated by Risk Alternatives. This cohort guided each agency in establishing a Risk Assessment for their agency. St.

Louis Sports Foundation Recovery and Resilience: Fundraising Capacity Each agency received $2,500 to participate in a one-week fundraising training camp conducted by Let’s Build Hope. Agencies received education on fundraising techniques. The Child Advocacy Center Lutheran Elementary School Association Guardian Angel Settlement Association Good Shepard School for Children St.

Louis Sports Foundation